Counterclockwise in Europe, part deux

Is New World capitalism the ultimate ager.

I’ve been thinking about that these past few weeks as I’ve spent time in three great – and very different — European cities: gracious, sparkling clean Vienna; medieval, beatnik Prague and bustling poseur Paris.  In my counterclockwise report last week, I talked about Europeans’ walking habits (versus our vehicular addiction) and how they ate their biggest meal mid-day (versus our enormous dinners followed by hours of screen-staring, junk-snacking couch time).

But the longer I stay here in the Old World, the more I see fascinating and complicating contradictions. Take McDonald’s, for example, the epitome of junk-food-fast-food America.  These three European cities all have multiple McDonalds (rebranded as McCafe in Vienna and Prague), and they are packed.  (I know. I frequented a number of them to use their super-fast internet connection.

But here are two differences that might make a difference: 1. No drive-through…therefore no mindless face-stuffing while operating a highly prized vehicle.  2. No rushing in general.  The food category might be fast food, but the diners appeared to take their time.

As I stood in a corner checking email, facebook and the weather forecast, Skpying with family anddoing business for twenty minutes at a time, I noted how slowly people were eating their burgers, how much time they spent talking and nibbling and sipping rather than gobbling and gulping.  Eating was a lengthy social event not a calorie-consuming contest as it sometimes appears to be in the U.S. – and especially at places like McD’s.

Here’s another bit of weirdness:  Austria, the Czech Republic and France all have higher – much higher – rates of cigarette smoking than we do.  In the U.S., we’re down to 20 percent these days (yay!).  The three countries I’ve been visiting are all in the mid- to high 30 percent range.  It seems even higher.  It seems like everyone smokes here.  So I looked up lung cancer death rates.  We’re #9.  Austria, with 75 percent more smokers, is #45 for lung cancer deaths.  France, with close to double the percentage of smokers, is #23.  (Incidentally, France ranks #7 in life expectancy.  The U.S. is a proud #40.)  What gives?

Probably national health care has something to do with this.  But I think something bigger and harder to define might be going on — attitude toward life.  Which brings me to:  Is rampant consumer capitalism the ultimate quick-ager?

If you want more all the time, if you’re always striving for bigger and better, you put yourself in a state of chronic stress which basically bathes you in cortisol.  Overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones is implicated in heart disease, depression, obesity, sleep and digestive problems and lowered immune response. It is, in other words, chronic stress — the way many of us live in the U.S. — is a major ager and major promoter of disease.

My friend (and sister-in-law) Morgaine Hager, a naturopath, mentioned the stress-cortisol-aging connection in a comment last week.  I think she’s right.